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UAV Technology USA

Military and civil UAS program leaders and industry meet near the Pentagon on programs and airspace integration.

Dates
Feb 1 to Feb 2, 2027
Where
Arlington, VA
Cost
Free expo, paid sessions. Standard price not listed on the page (shown at registration); $400 early-bird discount ended Oct 23, 2026. Page has some stale 2026 calendar text.
Type
Conference · Free expo, paid sessions
Organizer
SMi Group
Audience level
Mid career, Senior, Executive
Program
panels, networking events
Suits
Growing in role, Changing careers
Last checked
October 23, 2026 against the event’s own site

Official site and registration

Cheaper ways in: Attendance is complimentary for DoW and federal employees (not contractors).

Speaking opportunities

Speakers are invited

Speakers are selected by organizers; 'I would like to speak' enquiry form on the page.

How to apply to speak

Who goes

Roles and segments the organizer or our research tag this event for.

Segments: Uncrewed systems and drones

Roles: uas program manager

Levels: Mid career, Senior, Executive

The field it serves: Aerospace & Defense

Verified open jobs
about 23,042

Source: NextChapter job data, jobs verified live in the last 7 days.

Typical posted salary
$127,000 a year (middle half $101,000 to $159,000)

Source: NextChapter job data: salary ranges employers posted, midpoint of each range, 1,263 of the newest 5,000 verified open jobs.

Entry or early-career level
32% of openings

Source: NextChapter job data: level read from the full posting, newest 5,000 verified open jobs.

Employment, year over year
+0.3% in manufacturing, the closest BLS sector

Source: BLS Current Employment Statistics, seasonally adjusted payroll employment, September 2026.

Full Aerospace & Defense snapshot: jobs, pay, layoffs and conferences

Employers at this conference

Exhibitors, sponsors and speakers we have found on the event’s own lists.

Read from the event’s own pages: www.smgconferences.com.

Speakers and sessions

Named on the event’s own program. Titles and organizations are as the event lists them.

Panelists

  • Captain (Ret') Dennis Monagle

    CEO, Ash Bishop David Consultants

    Accelerating Maritime Reconnaissance Capability Through Acquisition Reform

  • Jeffery Castro

    Program Analyst, USMC/CD&I/CDD, US Marine Corps

    Scaling Autonomy Across the Joint Force

  • Ryan Pote

    Safety Department Head and Aviation Safety Investigator, US Navy UX-24

    Accelerating Maritime Reconnaissance Capability Through Acquisition Reform

Speakers

  • Andrew Adducchio

    Senior Materiel Leader, Collaborative Combat Aircraft, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center

    Collaborative Combat Aircraft: Accelerating Autonomous Airpower at Scale

  • Benjamin Tran

    Air Domain Lead, DRPM-UxS, USAF

    Operationalizing Affordable UAS at Scale: Open Architectures, Rapid Integration, and Mission Driven Acquisition

  • Colonel Charles Ankam III

    Commanding Officer, Weapons Training Battalion, United States Marine Corps

    Training the Drone-Enabled Marine: Integrating UAS into the Future Force

  • Colonel Christina Rusnock

    Deputy Director, ISR Sensors and FMS, US Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC)

    The AgilePod Family of Systems: Revolutionizing UAV Payload Integration via the Whole-System Analysis & Simulation Portal (WASP)

  • Colonel Greg Merkl

    Drone Dominance Director, Office of the Chief of Staff of the Army, US Army

    Delivering Drone Dominance: Transforming the U.S. Army for the Uncrewed Battlefield

  • Colonel Jason Raub

    Aviation Future Capability Directorate (AVN-FCD), US Army Headquarters Transformation and Training Command

    Accelerating Army UAS Transformation: Integrating Uncrewed Systems for the Future Fight

  • Colonel Jeremie Hester

    Director, Aviation Combat Element (ACE), Combat Development & Integration, Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, US Marine Corps

    Drone Dominance and the Future Marine Air-Ground Task Force

  • Colonel John Dayton

    Portfolio Acquisition Executive for ISR and Special Operations Forces (SOF), Air Force Life Cycle Management Center

    Advancing Airborne ISR: Acquiring the Next Generation of UAS and Intelligence Capabilities

  • Colonel Nathaniel Huston

    Deputy Chief Technology & Data Officer, USCENTCOM

    Accelerating Innovation at the Tactical Edge: Delivering UAS Capability Through Operational Experimentation

  • Colonel Samuel Teague

    Project Mars Officer in Charge, MEDCOM

    Project MARS: Building a sUAS-Enabled Medical Resupply Network

  • Dr Robert Kraus

    Dean, John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, University of North Dakota

    Chair's Opening Remarks

  • Katherine Kipling

    Technology Advisor, AFLCMC

    The AgilePod Family of Systems: Revolutionizing UAV Payload Integration via the Whole-System Analysis & Simulation Portal (WASP)

  • Leigh Irwin

    Program Manager, PMA-266, US Marine Corps

  • Lieutenant Colonel Jacob Pergande

    25th Attack Group

    From Reaper to Autonomous Advantage: Evolving USAF MQ-9 Operations for the Future Fight

  • Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bess

    UAS Marketplace Director, CPE Aviation

    Transforming UAS Acquisition: Delivering Operational Advantage Through the Army's UAS Marketplace

  • Lieutenant Colonel Nick Verreault

    Head of the Uncrewed Systems Office, Canadian Joint Forces Command

    Driving Joint UxS Integration: Building Canada's Future Uncrewed Force

  • Paul Strande

    SES, Deputy Executive Director, U.S. Federal Aviation Administration

    Detect and Avoid, Combat ID and Airspace Deconfliction for UAS Operations: Enabling Safe Integration at Scale

  • Rodney Davis

    Deputy PEO - Aviation, CPE Aviation

    Modernising Army Aviation for Multi-Domain Operations: Delivering the Next Generation of Unmanned Capability

Read from the event’s own pages: smgconferences.com

Industries and functions

Where it is and who it is for

Held in Arlington, VA. Local jobs, employers, layoffs and other conferences nearby are on the place pages.

Past and planned editions

  • 2027: February 1, 2027 to February 2, 2027, Arlington, VA

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